This invention relates to a pumped cooling liquid system with provision for separation of dissolved gases, and more particularly to a forced cooling system for electronic, electrical, and other equipment having a gas-liquid interface type pressurizer with which is combined a continuous gas separator.
Various types of mechanical, electrical, and chemical equipment are often cooled by means of a pumped cooling liquid. The heated liquid is thereafter passed through a heat exchanger, cooled, and recirculated to cool hot surfaces. In some such closed loop cooling systems the liquid becomes contaminated with gases present in the system that are undesirable from a thermal, electrical, and/or compatibility point of view. A simple device is needed which will remove some or all of this dissolved gas continuously and efficiently.
In solid state power conversion equipment, for example, the power silicon controlled rectifiers (SCR's) are immersed in a tank within which cooling liquid is continuously recirculated. If the liquid is pressurized in a conventional way using a pressurizer based on a gas-liquid interface, gas introduced at the pressurizer and also entering through the pipe walls and joints is sufficient to cause high bubble formation rates at the hot surfaces of the SCR's. The bubbles are formed when the fluid absorbs heat, and if the system is not properly controlled can result in dielectric breakdown in areas of high electric stresses or premature nucleation in subcooled boiling. Since a batch gas separator may not be employed, either a complicated pressurizer must be used such as one in which the liquid is separated from the gas by a solid flexible diaphragm, or a continuous gas separator must be included in the coolant system.